>> save your powder for the debt ceiling fight. work with me and others never to raise the debt ceiling again unless we address while we're in so much debt. >> i think there's going to be an all-new field of battle when the debt ceiling rolls around. >> our opportunity here is on the debt ceiling. this is where we have leverage. >> leverage? this is a battle about real people. real americans. the gop's willing to take this couns country hostage. and for ransom, they want massive cuts to programs americans need to survive. threatening to take the economy is not lev rarj. it's stupidity. joining me now is chris hays, host of "up with chris hayes" here on msnbc. thank you both for being here this evening. melissa, here we go again. the gop has a strategy to hold the economy hostage. does that make any political sense?

>> it does for them. look, we heard it from ryan directly. which is we are without real political power, right? they've got a majority in the house, but exclusive there. there are three branchs of government, they are one house and three branchs and minority overall in the government. so what they have to deal with are not real chips. what they have are these sort of moments, these opportunities that emerge. and, so, for them, political, the idea is, okay, debt ceiling should be a no-brainer. it should be easy to use. what we are going to use an opportunity to get what we want because there isn't any capacity to deal real governing. >> now, chris, even newt gingrich who was the author of the strategy in the '90s, he said this morning it's a dead loser for the gop. take a listen. >> they've got to find, in the house, a totally new strategy. nobody's talking about, okay, here comes the debt ceiling. i think that's, frankly, a dead loser. in the end, you know what's

going to happen. the whether or not he will national financial system is going to come into washington by television and say oh, my god, this will be a gigantic heart attack. the entire economy will collapse. you guys can't be responsible. okay. >> this is gingrich who shut government down in the '90s. everyone "the wall street journal" said this morning you can't take a hostage you aren't prepared to shoolt. >> i think there's two things here. one, i think newt gingrich might be underestimating just how intent house republicans are, first of all. second of all, it really worries me, the republicans themselves don't seem to actually understand what they're proposing. john cornyn said you must shut the govlt down. that's not what he's proposing. there's a whole bunch of people that the u.s. owes money to. contractors we have to pay, the salaries of u.s. senators. and what they're saying is some

small subset of those, on a certain day, you should stop paying. >> partial. >> what the heck does that even mien? and if you're worried about arbitrary government power, are you saying the executive should exercise the arbitrary power and authority to decide who gets paid and who doesn't? could they pay the salaries of democratic senators and not republican senators? >> and who decides that? >> exactly. it should be very clear to everyone watching and everyone following this debate, they don't seem to even understand what they are proposing. >> because they actively, under eric cantor's leadership, cantor basically said you know what, you're not going to teach us. you're not going to teach -- we've got all of these freshmen in, we're not going to learn from our elders here, initially, right? this is a kind of strategic point on eric cantor, initially. i think it's completely possible that there are a lot of

republicans who do not understand, even at this point, what the government is doing. >> no, there's no question. but back to your point, chris, i think they are so committed to blocking this president and to causing some kind of drama, that it's like i'm going to be actor without a script. i'm not doing a play, i'm just stage acting. >> there's also -- there's a certain amount of rational pursuit here in so far as the last time they do this, it was effective. what came out of the last debt ceiling fight was the budget control. it does massively reduce spending. it has succeeded in opposie ini austerity. >> you're talking about in '11? >> yes. the burdget control act reduces spending. it's keeping social security and medicare out of that, right? they are not coming back for a second bite of the apple. but it's not crazy thinking on their part. >> no, it's not. but isn't the fact that the president is in a different position now, melissa, and it's

certified today he won with 51%, he doesn't have another election. it's a different political fight today than it was? >> it undoubtedly is. the president is still primarily bound by a weak executive office. not that he personally is weak, but that the american presidency can't just sort of force this to happen. unless he is prepared to play this game all the way out and go back to that 14th amendment which came up as a conversati conversational topic that the president, as the leader of the station actually has the capacity, constitutionally, to say these are already incured debts. we have to in fact pay our debts and to go on the 14th amendment route. now, if that happened, then we are not only changing the game by being reelected, but says i'm going to go all the way to the fullest extent. >> but, chris, he said he wasn't

going to negotiate and cornyn helped by saying partial shutdown, meaning the president therefore has to make the decisions on what's going to be paid or not. he does it under the 14th amendment. pay everything. >> right: i think what ends up happening in this sort of set up, it really comes down to a question of credibility. and, in some ways, it's who is more credibly reckless. right now, the problem is facing these negotiations and they've always been the side more willing to throw up precedent. the president is very small conservative. has been throughout his entire career and certainly as the president of the united states in terms of not wanting to throw out the norms that have governed the way business has always done in the past. but i think we're headed towards a situation in which it will be required where he very seriously considered throwing those norms away.

>> i think they're putting it between, what the old folk used to say, between a rock and a hard place in the context of where they are saying we're going to default even if it's in part. we're insisting only negotiating things that absolutely would be held hostage. so what does he do? >> all he needs is for the american people to make it very clear if, in fact, the american people felt this way. so if they felt, after an argument, you know what, we want the president to use the power provided to him under the 14th amendment. and if that became very clear, if there was a sort of clarion call, this is what the american people want. that is where the president would then ultimately have the power in this game. and then they either have to fold, which is what newt gingrich is concerned about, if it's sort of dead on arrival. or if they don't fold and they turn out to be, in fact, completely reckless, then, in fact, it is those republicans who are up for re-election in 2014, not the president. >> and it goes back to the "wall

street journal" saying don't take a hostage you're not going to shoot. >> or you just don't take hosz tajs. >> the fact is they might find out who they're shooting is not president obama, but the american people. >> or the brand of the republican party. >> yeah, that's called a boom rang and the bullet hits you. chris and melissa, thanks. have a great weekend. happy new year to both of you. be sure to catch up with chris hayes saturdays and sundays at 8:00 a.m. followed by melissa harris-perry at 10:00 a.m. coming up, republican smack down. it's chris christie versus paul ryan facing off over sandy relief. and putting ideology over people. and nothing is certain except death, taxes and right-wing out rage at president obama's family vacation. we're breaking out our video tape tonight. plus, president obama's not so secret political weapon.

joe biden, he's sealing deals and having a whole lot of fun on the hill. the tape everyone is talking about is coming up. >> hey, mom! >> hey. >> how are you? i'm joe biden. come on, mom. take a chance. ruin your reputation here. >> you're watching politics nation on msnbc. [ male announcer ] where do you turn for legal matters? maybe you want to incorporate a business. or protect your family with a will or living trust. and you'd like the help of an attorney. at legalzoom a legal plan attorney is available in most states with every personalized document to answer questions.

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have you joined the politics

nation conversation on facebook yet? we hope you will. today, our fans had a lot of love for vice president joe biden, especially this moment from yesterday where he swore in connecticut senator joe murphy. the senator's one-year-old son wanted to be sworn into office, too. janelle says what a cutie pie. and so is joe biden. josh said biden was so nice to everybody during the swearing in ceremony, he seemed like an overall great guy. coming up, more of joe biden being joe biden and why he's the president's not-so-secret weapon. but, first, we want to hear what you think? please head over to facebook and search politics nation and like us to join the conversation. it keeps going long after the show ends. wears off. [ female announcer ] stop searching and start repairing. eucerin professional repair moisturizes while actually repairing very dry skin. the end of trial and error has arrived.

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there's only one group to blame for the continued suffering of these innocent victims. the house majority and their speaker, john boehner. >> some republicans only do the right thing if they're shamed into it by other republicans, like chris christie. and even then, they have to be dragged into it, kicking and screaming. there's what happened today with the vote on disaster aid after hurricane sandy. house republicans refuse to hold a vote on the floor aid package. instead, they broke it up into pieces, planning three separate votes over several weeks. but even on the one aid bill up for a vote today, a third of all house republicans voted against

it. 67 voted against helping storm victims. that included party leaders like paul ryan, jim jordan and tom price. these republicans are so opposed to government spending, that they refuse to help people hurt by the storm. once again, republicans are putting ideology over compassion, policy over people. we've seen it again and again. on issues raising from women's health to equal rights to equal pay and it has to stop. joining me now is e.j. columnist for "the washington post" and an msnbc kriblt tor. he recently wrote about the need to become a kinder, gentler nation after hurricane sandy and the shootings at sandy hook elementary. e.j., thanks for joining me. >> good to be with you. happy new year. >> happy new year to you, e.j.

how can these republicans vote against sandy relief and they continue to put ideology before people in need. how did they do this? >> well, i don't exactly know. i think it is worth noting that that kinder, gentler phrase came from george h.w. bush. it was a republican sentiment once upon time. it's going all the way back to the beginning of our republic. if there was ever any problem where we really had that great sentiment there but for the grace of god go i, it was on a storm or a natural disaster where it didn't matter whether you lived in new orleans or new york or anywhere else in the country, you knew that could happen to you. i think these right wing republicans, i'll give them credit, they still voted the right way, but these very conservative republicans think even disaster relief has to be offset by other cuts or some of

them actually question the federal government's role here. and i think they're starting to learn that this has a real cause. a lot of them mostly w ll lly wt a backlash in the primaries from their tea party. when you have someone speak out and say why are northeasterners supporting the republicans here, i think you may start seeing a change; at least i hope so. >> well, you've seen a fact that christie's state, as governor, was devastated. and they have to stand up for their constituency. but when you look at the fact that speaker boehner was afraid to even call the vote the other night because of the ideology of some of these right wing republicans, he felt they wouldn't have got the majority of the republican vote, even though his caucus still voted against it. when you read one of the lawmakers, representative howell rogers of kentucky, he told the

new york times, it's a little -- he's talking about boehner's role here. it's a little bit like being the head caretaker of a cemetery. there's a lot of people under you, but nobody listens. >> i loved that quote this morning. my mother-in-law who lives in rockaway, she was displaced because she lived in new york city, i loved howell. speaker boehner is stuck in a con tro diction. he is basically a conservative, deal-making pragmatic guy who got into the speaker ship because of these -- this right wing tea party rebellion. it reminds me of one of my favorite john kennedy quotes. kennedy said those who foolishly ride to power on the back of the tiger usually end up inside. and the tea party tiger is con stantly threatening to gobble up speaker boehner and the republican party. it hurt them in the senate races

in 2010 and 2012 and it's creating a terrible situation for boehner. n now that he's re-elected, and i think that's why he postponed the wrote to begin with, he can spend the next two years worries about his right wing or try to govern and be willing to pass some things with dem krats. and i am hoping he makes the choice to govern. >> and we're not naive about politics, but there ought to be some things beyond partisan ideology and victims of natural disasters ought to be one of them. e.j., thanks for your time, have a great weekend. >> good to be with you, reverend. thank you. >> coming up, the day president obama's election win becomes official. we're learning new details about the inauguration including a first. you'll want to hear this. c'mon dad!

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carl rove is making predictions for 2013. is this amazing? last year, he predicted the gop would win the senate. he said harry reid or nancy

pelosi would lose their leadership jobs. he said president obama would lose. wrong, wrong and very wrong. check out the big predictions this year. governor christie will win re-election handedly and lil chi clinton will be among the 2016 presidential hopefuls. wow, way to go out on a limb there, carl. you must have nearly cracked your crystal ball with those predictions. but, folks, you don't need to see into the future to know republicans will blame any and everything in this new year on president obama. that's ahead. stay with us. designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+.

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with the original sugar-like taste you love and trust. splenda makes the moment yours. if by blessed you mean freaked out about money well we suddenly noticed that everything was getting more expensive so we switched to the bargain detergent but i found myself using three times more than you're supposed to and the clothes still weren't as clean as with tide. so we're back to tide. they're cuter in clean clothes. thanks honey yeah you suck at folding [ laughs ] [ female announcer ] one cap of tide gives you more cleaning power than 6 caps of the bargain brand. [ woman ] that's my tide, what's yours? well, it's finally official. president obama has been re re-elected for a second term. today, in a formal count mandated by the constitution,

vice president joe biden presided over the ceremony. a group of senate pages carried two mahogany boxes holding certificates of vote mailed in from around the country. they found president obama won the election with 332 electoral votes. it's the first time since eisenhower that a president won 51% of the popular vote twice. and we're learning more about the inauguration. chief justice ron roberts will swear the president is just like he did the first time around. but let's remember who will be right there next to the president, vice president joe biden. he will be sworn in by supreme court justice sonya sotomayor, the first hispanic person to administer an inaugural oath of office. but yesterday, it was joe being joe. classic biden.

and i loved every minute of it. >> hey, mom. >> how are you? good to see you. i'm joe biden. >> who do you want me to look at? >> whoever you want.

>> anybody else want to be sworn in as a senator today? >> i could watch that all day. but let's face it. joe biden is a great politician. he's likable. he's loyal. he's tough. and, most importantly, he knows how to get things done in washington. joining me now is bob schrum, senior advisor to john kerry's presidential campaign and now a professor at nyu. and maria theresa, a president and c.e.o. a voto latino and msnbc contributor. thank you for being here. let me start with you, what can you say about this tape. classic joe biden yesterday. what do you make of him? >> he's real. authentic. comfortable with himself. and, combined with that, he's extraordinarily effective. i think he's arguably the most effective vice president in american history. it's not just what he did on the fiscal cliff deal. it's what he did at the end of

2010 in terms of extending the tax cuts and getting unemployment compensation through and the payroll tax through. it's the influence he's had on afghanistan policy and iraq policy where we're getting out of those wars. it's the way he campaigned and the way he related to people in the last election. i think that, you know, look, hillary clinton is a formidable obama th obama that skal. i think some times people forget throughout history no incumbent vice president has been denied the nomination of his party since 1952. >> wow, well let me ask you following up on that, maria, do you think biden is seriously thinking about running? let me show you what he said on election day since bob went there, let me go there with him. on election day, it kind of raised a few eyebrows. watch what happened in an exchange joe biden had.

>> um-hmm. i remember, yep, yep. >> this is the eighth time that i've run statewide in the state of delaware. and it's alms a kick. and it really is to see people out here and to hope everybody exercises their right to vote. it's a great honor. >> it's the last time you're going to vote for yourself? >> no, i don't think so. >> i don't think so that it's the last time he's going to vote for himself. what was he saying? is he running, maria? and if he were to run, is he as formidable, in your opinion, as our friend bob here thinks he is? >> what's so charging about vice president biden is he's so coy with his words. i think that's why the media keeps eating him up. the fact that they left it open, i think that is the case. he is trying to figure out should he run for president in 2016. but, also, what's interesting is his choice of who's going to swear him in. it's not by chance that it's

justice sotomayor. he has an incredible group of advisors. the secretary has really coached him on not how only to connect with the latino community, but also how to talk about their immigrant experience. any time i've had a chance to talk with him, he talks about the importance of immigrants in this country. he actual ly sees himself in th latino struggle. actually, if he does choose to run for office in 2016, he's something that the latino community, i think, will really be charmed by. >> and i've been in many meetings with him and african american leaders, he knows how to talk. let me show you a member of latinos talking to members of congress last night and get your reaction. >> have you ever seen a time when the republicans have had a more rapid epiphany about immigration than they had in this last election? the way they make the mark to make sure there is no going back

and only going forward. it's for the hispanic community to step up and step out and let the world now and let the republicans know that in your state, if you ignore the needs and concerns of the hispanic people, you will not win. you will not win. >> that's last night speaking to his pan i could members of congress, bob. i just said he's going to have justice sotomayor to do an inaugural swearing in. if he's running in 2016, with the vote of the latino community being crucial, clearly, they're coming out of the 2012 election, seems like he's on deck early if, in fact, that's what he has on mind in terms of being on deck to say i'm in this race. >> i think there will be a major presence in the push for immigration reform. i think one of the things that's most intriguing here is that the

republicans now say we've got to do something on immigration reform. but then they want to break it up into little pieces where they'll probably vote for the punitive stuff and not vote, for example, for things like a path to citizenship. if you watch that clip of biden, you see what an extraordinary public speaker he is. he's been that way since i first knew him back in 1972. he has the capacity to really touch people and to move them. he has great strengths in iowa, new hampshire, florida and the critical states of pennsylvania and ohio. so i think this whole press stereotype about him is being confounded by events and has been sharply confounded by events of the last week. >> he's an effective oratar when you hear him speak. he drafted the original violence against women's act, he played a key role in bipartisan deals that resolve the 2010 taxation

deadlock, the 2011 debt ceiling crisis and, most recently, the 2012 fiscal cliff. so you can't say it's all that he knows how to work a room or that he knows how to give a passionate speech. he gets things done. >> he's an incredibly as constitute politician. he understands the importance of connecting with folks. as you mentioned, most recently with the fiscal cliff. let's remember he also help s t broker obama care. he loves the idea of going in one-on-one, toe-to-toe and negotiating with folks. i hope the president basically has him hand over immigration reform. you're absolutely right. we can't do piecemeal. we have to do comprehensive. it's actually in the republicans' best interest to do comprehensive immigration reform. if they choose piecemeal by piecemeal, there's no way that they're going to get the latino community on board with them.

but if they're able to pass a comprehensive piece of legislation, it can focus on the real issues at hand. >> thanks both of you for your time tonight. >> have a great week enld, rev. >> you, too. >> coming up, who knew the rightties loved to recycle. they're bringing back their tired old tax on the president for taking a vacation. [ dylan ] this is one way to keep your underwear clean. this is another! ta-daa! try charmin ultra strong. it cleans so well and you can use up to four times less than the leading value brand. and it's four times stronger. charmin ultra strong.

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president obama has been enjoying his few vacation days in hawaii over the past year. and if anyone deserves some r&r, it's him. but some right wingers just won't give him a break. >> obama went back to hawaii to finish the vacation. that's another slap in the face, by the way.

gets back on air force one. didn't even say, you know what, obama used the autopen in the white house to sign the legislation. >> the president of the united states is back on vacation in hawaii. meanwhile, just miles from where we're sitting, there are tens of thousands of people whose houses were destroyed by sandy. >> oloha and mahala, right? >> our commander in chief has since returned to his wonderful vacation in hawaii once again showing us that he simply does not have your best interest in mind. >> this is ridiculous. conservatives don't like what he does when he's working. but they also don't like what he does when he's not working. they don't like the fiscal cliff bill, but they also don't like how he signs the bill. after the big loss in the election, the gop should be trying to move ahead. instead, they're being distracted by birthers, right wingers and tv talkers. it would be funny if it weren't so sad.

joining me now is abbey huntsman, host and producer of huffington post live and joe ma dayson, national radio host. thanks to both of you for being here tonight. >> and happy new year to you. >> happy new year to woet both of you. >> abbey, why are so some desperate to attack the president? >> do you know what they would have said if he didn't take a vacation? they would have said he's not christian enough. or he's not a family guy. he's not with his family. this is all political rhetoric. and, frankly, the republicans don't have a lot of merit on this argument, george w. bush took the most vacation. he took 1020 days off. >> let me show you the numbers. you're absolutely right. president obama has taken 84 days of vacation from the day he took office in january until today. 84. during a shorter period of time,

george w. bush from january, 2001 through august of 2003, that's not even the end of his third year, president bush had taken 250 days off. i don't remember seeing the right wingers hollering and screaming about that. and to even make it worse, let me show you one of the memorable moments of president bush on vacation. watch this, abbey and joe. >> we must stop the terror. i call upon all nations to do everything they can to stop these terrorist killers. thank you. now watch this drive. >> all right. >> now, can you imagine, joe madison, president obama talking about something as serious as terrorism and then almost appear to be mocking it by saying watch this basketball shot? >> man, you and your staff are good. i mean, that's one i missed.

>> you can't make that up. you can't make that up. >> you cannot make that up. let me put this in context and i'll use nancy reagan. and i saw this quote. nancy reagan said presidents don't get vacations. they just get a change of scenery. the job goes with them. all the pressure and everything. every republican knows that. and to rush limbaugh, i just have two words. jack squat. i mean, that's as simple as that. and the same thing with the folks over at the other network. they know that. and you hit it -- look, eisenhower, nobody played golf more than eisenhower did. >> well, you're exactly right. reagan used to get a lot of -- reagan used to go to his ranch in california all of the time. people forget that presidents back in the day would takd the entire summers off. they would take the train. that was the only way of transportation. they didn't have internet.

>> i'm going to say it -- maybe i'm the one that will say it. here's what i think the problem is. they don't have a problem showing bush, kennedy going to where ever he went off every weekend. i'm going to tell you what the problem is with president obama. that's it. that's the problem. and that's the problem they have. they might as well admit. they can't stand the site of seeing this african american president in hawaii. for them to sit up there and talk about the the people back home? >> they're not too crazy about seeing him in washington. >> i think that's a ridiculous statement. i think he's working most of the time he's in hawaii. >> of course he is. >> but i hope he is taking a little built of time with his family and time off. the next few months are going to be really serious and difficult for the president. it's really easy to find ways to pay, you know, raising taxes. but finding ways to cut is going

to be very difficult. the president is going to be in a position where he's not only going to have to communicate with congress and lead but commune kat with the american people and articulate how he's going to make these necessary cuts that are essential to moving forward. >> but you're making one presumption that the congress will be there. the republicans are attacking president obama for taking a vacation, but look at the 2013 congressional work schedule that was released this week. this year, congress will spend only 126 days in session. they'll be gone almost three times than they'll be there themselves. so what are we talking about? >> i think i'm going to run for office. it sounds like quite the gig. >> you're better off running -- you're actually better off running for vacation. that's what it boils down to. for them to bring up the people in new jersey, excuse me, they were in office and still had 50,000 plus people who are

without homes and they couldn't even come up with legislation to save those people. while they were at work. >> it's about getting the state of affairs done. it's about getting the work of the people done. and, frankly, congress hasn't done that. i don't care where they're going, what vacations they're taking. it's about getting things done. the president, in the next few months is going to be in a position where he can't leave so it's up to him. i hope he is taking that time off right now. >> and when you see what he's done from health care to a wall street reform, the fiscal cliff, the debt relief, on and on and on. if he's getting the job done, i hope whatever he needs to continue to get it done, he does. and a few days here and there, particularly when it's way less than his predecessors -- >> he could be gone for the next three years and i have think he'll still do better. >> presidents don't take vacation. >> didn't president bush used to go a bit early? about the time i go on tv. >> ronald reagans used to take naps. >> i'll leave it on that one,

joe. thanks for your time tonight. >> thank you. >> ahead, ohio was ground zero for voter suppression last year. guess what? they're at it again. big news on the right wing secretary of state next. ♪ [ woman ] too weak. wears off. been there. tried that. ladybug body milk? no thanks.

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president elect of the ohio legislative black caucus. she helped get the voter intimidation billboards taken down. and she's taking on john houston, ohio's partisan republican, secretary of state who did everything he could to suppress voters. thank you for being here tonight. >> thank you, reverend sharpton. thanks for having me in. as you know, this is nothing new. i grew up in the movement and marched with you several times all the way back to my days when we took on david duke. >> how are you planning on taking on houston and what are your plans? what's the strategy? >> well, the strategy is, number one, we have had some victories on policies. we've had eight lawsuits, we've won a majority of them. he tried to stop early voting on the biggest day of voting on the weekends. we won that fight. and we had thousands that the largest number ever to vote on that weekend.

so we've won in the courts when the billboards went up. we said we're going to take voter intimidation and make it to voter motivation. we had a black man vote march where thousands of black men marched to the polls. but as we approach 2013, there are a couple things that we've got to do. one is that we have to make sure that the victories that we have have been permanently put in place. secondly, we've got to be able to fight for our rights. you know, when president obama gets sworn in this time, it's on dr. king's holiday. we go from i have a dream to the dream is real. now we've got a fight for that dream. and we've got to make sure these dreams become permanent. so we cannot stop, reverend sharpton. the keyword is action. there will be an election for the position of secretary of state. >> is houston going to run again for that position? >> he is going to run.

he's announced that he is going to run. but i'll tell you that the democratic party, we're going to have a tough candidate that we're going to put up. but most importantly, we cannot be, like you said, at the inauguration and we're celebrating. well, while we're celebrating, they are organizing, the republican party is organizing and getting the movie going. we're going to be keeping the infrastructure in place to make sure that we do have a secretary of state in place that is going to have a right type of policies. as you know, reverend jackson -- i mean reverend sharpton, i have gone out and gotten the u.s. attorney general to come in and go to ohio and we're going to ask him to come back into ohio. it needs to be investigated. >> no u, you're asking him to come into ohio and investigate what? >> investigate provisional ballots, for example.

>> we're going to ask to come back here to ohio and make sure that there are no civil rights violations. >> all right, let me ask you. you say voter reform, you're proposing legislation. quickly tell me in a sentence or two what's going to be in the crux of the legislation you're proposing, representative rees. >> early voting needs to be permanent. it was a solution to the problems in 2000. it needs to be perm nant. that needs to be a permanent law. number 2, when it goes to a polling location and goes to the wrong table, their votes should not be thrown away. we want to make provisional ballots be something that is counted. reverend sharpton, i want to thank you. you're going to be starting a national network chapter. we're going to be working without you throughout the state of ohio. >> yeah, i'll be there tomorrow evening to kick that chapter off and make sure we protect voters' rights. thank you for your time tonight. and have a great weekend.

as we -- >> thank you, i'll see you tomorrow. >> see you tomorrow. as we embark on a new year, we must have a renewed fight for many of the things we fought for last year. because voting rights and women rights and the rights of people against discrimination, whether they're a f ri can american, latino, whether they are lesbian and gay must be protected. this is not something you can fight one battle and think you've won it all. you win some battles, you lose some battles. you fight a deal until we win the war. until we have a nation that's really living up to the creed in one nation, indivisible with liberty and justice of all. not all of one kind, not all of one thing, but all. and as long as we need to pursue that, some of us will pursue it. thanks for watching. i'm al sharpton.

"hardball" starts right now. >> another government shutdown show down? let's play "heart ball." pushl push blank blaeng . >> good evening. leading off tonight, there they go again. republicans are smarting from the results of the fiscal cliff talks. so, now, they're doing what comes naturally when they don't get their way. threatening to shut down the government when the next fight comes up. two senators are making that threat and speaker john boehner says he's ready to use the debt ceiling fight to get the spending cuts he wants. also, a few days late, but the house finally voted for aid to hurricane sandy victims. you'd think a no-brainer. but they promised to punish members for approving the aid and 67% of house republicans voted no.

we're going to ask an opponent of aid to confirm that one. now the senate is looking for inappropriate access. leave it to vice president joe biden. >> hey, mom. how are you? >> good to see you. i'm joe biden. >> his glad handing yesterday has drawn snickers from critics, but let's praise the vice president for showing the world how to get it done. for being a pa. finally, michelle bachmann. we begin with the republicans threatening to shut down the government if they don't get the spending cuts they won.